'X Factor' District3: 'Christopher Maloney is being treated horribly'

Eliminated X Factor contestants District3 have said that they "respect" Christopher Maloney for standing firm against the "horrible" backlash to his survival on the show.

The trio were sent home yesterday (November 11) after falling into the bottom two with fellow boyband Union J, but Maloney was apparently the least popular act with the studio audience, receiving boos when it was announced he had been saved.

Speaking to Digital Spy following their exit, District3 condemned the "really rude" treatment of the controversial contestant and insisted that he is a "genuinely nice guy".

"I don't like it when people boo. It's really rude in a sense. It's not very nice," bandmember Micky Parsons said. "To be on that stage is so scary as it is and then to be booed, it's horrible.

"It's not a nice feeling. We got booed once when we were in the bottom two and it's just a really horrible feeling to feel like you're not wanted there, and for him to go through that every week - I can't imagine. [We have] respect for him for keeping his head high."

Asked about Gary Barlow's particularly harsh comments over the weekend, District3 admitted that they "don't think he likes [them]", before declaring that they are "really respectful" of mentor Louis Walsh's decision not to pick between his acts.

"It don't matter whether he went first or last, it was always going to be a tough decision for him," Greg West said. "I think he might have just wanted it to go to public vote, just so it was [fair]."

Ferrari-Lane continued: "You could see on his face that he felt really bad about it, and we're really respectful of his decision to not vote."